Childhood days parsed by meals from his mother still stick with David Cerda to this day.
Now the owner of Urbano Taco | Enchilada Bar, Cerda says his mom’s cooking has influenced the menu of his Flower Mound-based Tex-Mex restaurant.
“I come from a Hispanic background. … So some of the recipes are family recipes,” Cerda said. “The cheese enchiladas—they are my mom’s cheese enchiladas, and it’s the sauce that makes it. It’s the rojo sauce.”
Having spent time as a server and manager in previous food-industry jobs, Cerda opened his own restaurant in Lantana in 2010.
“Back in my head, I always wanted to open up a restaurant,” Cerda said. “And I knew if I was going to get there, I needed to learn all the tools and tips of running [a restaurant]. I did whatever it took to learn all that stuff.”
But after five years of long commutes, Cerda and his wife, Lynne, decided it was time to move their restaurant closer to their home in Coppell, they said. That is when they decided to open Urbano in August 2016.
After deciding on a location off Flower Mound Road, Cerda and Lynne proceeded to revamp the interior and exterior decorations—drawing much of their inspiration from some of their favorite food joints they discovered when visiting in Austin.
With an expansive patio, stained-wood accents and a sliding garage door that opens during the spring months, Cerda and Lynne feel their restaurant lives up to their urban title.
But despite their slick new restaurant, it all comes back to the quality hospitality for the Cerdas—that home-like atmosphere Cerda recalls from his childhood.
“We treat this place like it is our home away from home,” Cerda said. “Anybody that walks in—they are coming into our home.”
And it is with that hospitality that Cerda hopes he can bring in more customers through his doors—be it his wait staff’s professionalism or their efforts to make sure their customers feel welcome.
“I think people like to see and get to see and get to know the owners—the operators of the business,” Cerda said. “It’s sort of like building a personal relationship with your guests.”
And any time a new guest comes in, Cerda makes sure to always recommend his favorite dish: Mama’s, Enchiladas named after his mom.
“I tell them those are the enchiladas I grew up on,” Cerda said.
Urbano Enchilada | Taco Bar
1121 Flower Mound Road, Ste. 570,
Flower Mound • 469-763-9582
www.urbanoetb.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-8 p.m.